Several key Australian industries which rely heavily on backpackers will sit down with government officials in Canberra this week to discuss concerns over Labor’s planned migration cuts.
The West Australian understands the roundtable consultation session on Tuesday will examine the impact of changes to Working Holiday Visa holders will have on sectors like agriculture, aged care, tourism and hospitality, especially in the regions.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke announced the contentious migration overhaul at the National Press Club in September which included a US-style “green card lottery” for backpackers.
The overhaul was part of a broader suite of measures aimed at driving down net overseas arrivals by 75,000 a year.
Mr Burke said the Working Holiday Maker program will introduce a ballot system in the second and third year.
Under their plan, backpackers will continue to have regional work requirements to support communities outside the cities.
His address came after Mr Burke revealed the Department of Home Affairs had been taking an administrative “go-slow” approach to applications to manually suppress high net overseas migration figures.
Industry groups have described Tuesday’s meeting as a “good start” — telling The West they were “hopeful” for “good outcomes” ahead of their peak operational periods.
Several sectors have previously claimed a processing freeze and lottery system could undermine workforce planning with farmers quick to highlight it could leave them short of staff during the harvesting season.
Shadow Agriculture Minister Darren Chester said Labor’s slow processing had already thrown farmers into “uncertainty” heading into harvest.
“Labor needs to stop making farmers guess and give them real certainty before harvest,” Mr Chester told The West Australian.
“Farmers have already been through weeks of uncertainty, with processing slowed and applications from some countries paused, and now they face a ballot on top of it.
“Labor’s backpacker ballot is the wrong answer for farmers heading into harvest.
“The second and third year caps mean growers can’t be sure the experienced workers they rely on will be able to come back.”
He said Agriculture Minister Julie Collins would be “forced to clean up another mess” from Mr Burke.
Mr Chester vowed the Coalition would scrap Labor’s ballot to ensure the regions wouldn’t be left in limbo and would create a dedicated “agriculture visa” so farmers have a workforce pathway built for their needs.
“Labor has let migration get out of control, but it shouldn’t be farmers and regional communities who are made to carry the burden of fixing it,” he said.
“This is not just an inconvenience for farmers. If growers cannot access the workers they need when crops are ready, it affects food supply, the stock on supermarket shelves and the prices Australian families pay at the checkout.”
It comes amid a three-way battle on migration policies with Coalition and One Nation.
Opposition leader Angus Taylor has defended the Coalition’s sweeping migration overhaul, arguing Australia needs fewer arrivals, a higher number of skilled workers and tougher standards on immigration.
In a plan unveiled last week, the Coalition promised to cut net migration by 100,000 people a year and reduce total migration by 650,000 over four years.
Mr Taylor has described it as the biggest cut to immigration in the nation’s history.
The plan would slash temporary visa numbers, abolish temporary graduate visas and restrict family members accompanying international students and halve the humanitarian intake to 10,000, while expanding pathways for skilled workers needed in critical industries.
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson claims her party’s plan to slash temporary migration by 750,000 over three years would take pressure off housing and save renters up to $4300 a year.
One Nation’s policy includes measures to substantially restrict the ability of temporary students, graduates and skilled workers to sponsor family and dependents to Australia.
One Nation says it would end the practice of “temporary visa hopping”.
Labor’s plan also includes a redesign of the skilled migration points test so housing construction trade qualifications carry the same point value as a university degree.
Mr Burke claimed that the Coalition and One Nation’s proposals would reduce the number of skilled workers available to Australian employers when businesses were struggling to find workers.
“If you go too hard, you smash the economy in particular, you smash the health sector, you smash construction,” Mr Burke told News24 on Sunday.
Mr Burke and the Home Affairs Department have been contacted.
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